Webs or other sheets of material are used in a variety of industries and in a variety of ways. These materials can include paper, multi-layer paperboard, and other products manufactured or processed in long sheets. As a particular example, long sheets of paper can be manufactured and collected in reels.
It is often necessary or desirable to measure one or more properties of a sheet of material as the sheet is being manufactured or processed. Adjustments can then be made to the process in order to help ensure that the properties stay within desired ranges. Measurements are often taken using a scanning head that moves back and forth across the width of the sheet. Scanning heads are typically connected to external systems through cable tracks having wires and optionally fluid for the scanning heads. These cable tracks often need to be flexible in at least one direction so that the cable tracks can bend without suffering from fatigue stresses.
When a scanning head moves a relatively short distance, the stiffness of a cable track itself often allows the cable track to be pushed and pulled without the need for a carrier linkage exoskeleton. When a longer cable track is needed, the cable track often cannot be both (i) stiff enough to be pushed without buckling and (ii) flexible enough to allow compact bending. In these situations, a cable track is often placed within a linkage carrier that is designed to resist reverse bending and to provide stiffness so the cable track can be predictably pushed over long distances. However, these linkage carriers add cost, assembly complexity, size, weight, noise, vibration, speed limit, and failure points to the overall system.